Where to sit, sip and slow down in Florence.
Coffee shops, bakeries with seats and the places Florence lingers in over a cortado.
Caffe Gilli in Florence's Piazza della Repubblica is the city's oldest cafe, opened in 1733, with the same marble counter and the original Belle Epoque painted ceiling intact.
Signature drink: Espresso at the marble counter
Order: Espresso at the counter (€1.50) and a cantuccino dipped in Vin Santo.
Tip: Counter pricing is half of table service. Open daily 07:30 to midnight; the terrace seats 60.
Rivoire in Florence has poured the city's benchmark hot chocolate at the Piazza della Signoria corner since 1872, with a chocolate-making lab in the back and the original wooden counter intact.
Signature drink: Hot chocolate
Order: The dense hot chocolate (€7), the cioccolato fondente in winter, and any sfoglia pastry from the case.
Tip: Counter pricing is half of table; the piazza terrace is worth the €15 minimum for the Palazzo Vecchio view.
Ditta Artigianale in Florence's Via dei Neri is Francesco Sanapo's flagship roastery and cafe, with single-origin filter coffees, espresso and the country's first dedicated barista school since 2013.
Signature drink: Single-origin filter coffee
Order: A V60 filter from the rotating origins board, plus a brunch plate on weekends.
Tip: Open daily 08:00 to 22:00. The roasted-bean retail counter ships internationally.
La Menagere in Florence's San Lorenzo is the all-day concept inside a 19th-century housewares shop, with breakfast, brunch, lunch, aperitivo and live jazz nightly under one roof.
Signature drink: All-day espresso and aperitivo
Order: The morning brioche and cappuccino, then aperitivo from 18:30.
Tip: Open daily 07:00 to midnight. Live jazz Wed-Sun from 21:30.
Caffe Cibreo in Florence's Sant'Ambrogio quarter is the all-day cafe-and-bar of the Cibreo group, with a walnut counter, daily-baked Cibreo pastries and the lunchtime small-plates carte.
Signature drink: Espresso and Cibreo pastries
Order: Espresso at the counter, the daily Cibreo pastry, the lunchtime small-plates board.
Tip: Closed Sunday and Monday. The walnut bar seats 12; arrive at 08:00 for a stool.
Caffe Paszkowski in Florence's Piazza della Repubblica is the 1846 Polish-founded cafe that became the haunt of the early-20th-century literary set, with a piazza-side terrace and live piano nightly.
Signature drink: Espresso and panna cotta
Order: Espresso at the bar, panna cotta in the dining room, an aperitivo Negroni on the terrace.
Tip: Open daily 07:00 to midnight. The terrace seats 80; live piano from 19:30 nightly.
Caffe Le Giubbe Rosse in Florence's Piazza della Repubblica is the 1897 cafe that hosted Marinetti and the Futurists in the 1910s, with a daily literary salon program intact since reopening in 2024.
Signature drink: Espresso at the literary terrace
Order: Espresso at the marble counter, panforte di Siena, an aperitivo Americano.
Tip: Open daily 08:00 to midnight. Look for the Futurist plaques in the back salon.
Scudieri in Florence sits directly across from the Duomo's Baptistery, a 1939 cafe-pasticceria with a terrace looking onto the cathedral and a daily-rotating pastry case in the back.
Signature drink: Espresso facing the Duomo
Order: Espresso, schiacciata alla fiorentina with chocolate cream, the cantuccini.
Tip: Open daily 07:30 to midnight. Terrace pricing reflects the Duomo view; counter is half.
Procacci in Florence's Via Tornabuoni shopping street is the 1885 truffle bar, with the white-tile counter, the panino tartufato and a Prosecco glass for €5, owned today by Marchesi Antinori.
Signature drink: Truffle panino and Prosecco
Order: The truffle panino (€7), a glass of Antinori Prosecco and a tagliere of Tuscan salumi.
Tip: Closed Sunday. Counter only; standing-room two-deep at 18:00 aperitivo.
Cantinetta da Verrazzano in Florence's Via dei Tavolini is the bakery-and-wine-bar of the Castello da Verrazzano estate, with a wood-fired oven baking schiacciata and focaccia, served with estate Chianti.
Signature drink: Bakery espresso and Verrazzano Chianti
Order: Schiacciata stuffed with prosciutto, the daily focaccia and a Verrazzano Chianti Classico.
Tip: Closed Sunday. Wine-by-the-glass list goes deep into Tuscan estates; ask for the Sassello.
Ditta Artigianale Oltrarno in Florence's San Frediano quarter is the Sprone-corner sister room of Sanapo's flagship, with the same single-origin filter coffee, cocktail program and a small breakfast carte.
Signature drink: Single-origin filter coffee
Order: Filter coffee of the day, the avocado-on-sourdough breakfast, a Negroni at aperitivo.
Tip: Open daily 08:00 to midnight. The Oltrarno room runs the cocktail program later than Via dei Neri.
Santarosa Bistrot in Florence's San Frediano sits inside the Arno-side park on Lungarno di Santa Rosa, an all-day cafe with a garden terrace, breakfast, lunch and aperitivo until 23:30.
Signature drink: Cappuccino in the garden
Order: Cappuccino in the garden, the daily focaccia plate, an aperitivo spritz at sunset.
Tip: Open daily 08:00 to 23:30. The park-side garden seats 80; closed when it rains.
Peak food season in Florence is year-round.
Local dining hours: lunch around 12:30, dinner from 19:30.
service is typically included; small extra is welcome but not expected.
Ask the next local you meet what they would order. Florence rewards trust.